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Pottermore
Pottermore is an official Harry Potter website created by J.K.Rowling and Sony that launched on 14 April 2012 after several months of beta testing. The original Pottermore allowed fans to explore the stories like never before by taking them through moments to discover exclusive new writing from J.K. Rowling, as well as building a profile and playing games to achieve house points. On 22 September 2015, Pottermore relaunched with a new blog style format having decided that some of the old features were not properly serving the fans. Even though moments are not available anymore, Pottermore became a place to find news about any new projects and still features some new writing by Rowling. The Pottermore Shop contains eBook editions of each novel to purchase, from the original Harry Potter series to companion novels such as The Tales of Beedle the Bard. On 6 September 2016, the website will release Pottermore Presents which will contain archived writings that were taken down from the website following it's relaunch as well as some new writing from Rowling. The Announcement On 15 June 2011, a number of teasers for Pottermore were set up. Ten Harry Potter ''fan sites received a challenge to piece together 10 letters (E-T-O-T-O-P-E-R-R-M) to reveal the subject of the announcement. The Pottermore website and official Twitter account were launched with the words "Coming Soon" and J.K. Rowling's signature. The next day, a new YouTube account entitled "J.K. Rowling Announces" was opened and showed a countdown to 23 June 2011. On 16 June 2011, a representative of Rowling stated that "''Pottermore is the name of J.K. Rowling's new project. It will be announced soon, and it is not a new book." On 23 June, J.K. Rowling revealed some details about Pottermore via a YouTube video. She stated that Pottemore "will be the place where fans of any age can share, participate in, and rediscover the stories. It will also be the exclusive place to purchase digital audio books and, for the first time, e-books of the Harry Potter series". Early registration: The Magical Quill challenge Rowling announced in June 2011 that Pottermore would be open to everyone from October 2011 following a beta period. The website was launched on the 31st July 2011, with an overwhelming number of people trying to access the site. The site had a page refresher and those who could get into Pottermore were informed of The Magical Quill challenge which would allow users who completed the challenge to complete the early registration for the site. Every day, a quota would be filled and once it had, fans who didn't win that day were given another chance the next day. It continued for 7 days. Each day, a clue had to be solved which were corresponding to a certain book in the series; with Day 1 corresponding to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and so on. When the clue was solved and the winner set up their account, the website would give them five names to chose from for child safety. By the end of the challenge, a total of one million winners had set up an account. The clues on days 4-7 were much easier than the clues on days 1-3. For North Americans, the final clue was released on 5 August 2011 instead of 6 August due to the fact that the clue was released at 1:00 am BST. The clues were - Beta period On 10 August, Pottermore started sending a "congratulations" email to registered users, confirming that they would get early entry and that the beta period would begin once the sign-in button had reappeared on the website. On 15 August 2011, the sign-in button reappeared on the website, welcome emails were sent out and the beta period began. A "very small number" of users were invited to begin use of Pottermore on the first day, with more users subsequently being invited until 30 September, at the latest. The site received positive reviews from users and the media early on in the beta period. They praised the "beautiful artwork" and the extra content revealed by Rowling. Bryan Young of The Huffington Post has said that "to say that Pottermore is an immersive experience might be an understatement." He commented that while the beta site still had a few problems, which was expected in the beta phase, "the experience was smooth and utterly absorbing." Early users also said that although the site did not back that feeling of excitement when the books were released, it did add an "extra layer" to the reading experience, similar to the maps and additional content released for The Lord of the Rings series. Public Launch Pottermore was originally meant to open at the end of October 2011 but the beta period had to be extended so that the creators could "make Pottermore the best experience it can be before it opens to everyone". They promised it would open soon but no new date was set for several months. On the 27th March 2012, Pottermore Shop was opened. The site eventually opened to the general public on 14 April 2012. The site still had a beta link so they could continue to receive feedback. It stayed up until 31 July 2013 following the release of the last fews chapters of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Old Pottermore The old Pottermore gave an interactive experience. Once an account was set up, you would begin travelling through moments. Each chapter of every book was spilt into one to four moments with one to three zoom layers. You would have to find certain things, such as clicking on a sign which would reveal some new writing or find an object to collect. You would begin with the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and once you had found everything in one moment, you would move onto the next moment. When you reached the chapter Diagon Alley, you would receive a shopping list. You would follow the story to Gringotts to receive some coins, before being able to click on different shops including Flourish and Blotts to buy school books, Potage's Cauldron Shop and the Apothecary. You would also pick your pet at Magical Menagerie, with the choice of an owl, cat or toad. Finally, you would visit Ollivanders to obtain a wand following a small quiz. When you reached moment three of the chapter The Sorting Hat, you would take the Sorting Quiz. Once you were Sorted, you would receive a House welcome message containing new information from Rowling. From then on, you could compete for the House Cup by playing Wizard's Duel and making Potions. You could continue travelling through the moments at your own pace but everything you collected would give you some house points. Only the first book was available to play from the beginning, but over time Pottermore released each moment from each book. Following the release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pottermore changed the site so that you could buy a pet, a wand and be placed into a house without having to travel through moments. By April 2014, Pottermore and Sony ended their partnership leaving Pottermore to be an independent venture. New Pottermore On 14 April 2015, Pottermore announced they were redeveloping their site. They believed some of the site features were not really working anymore and discontinued them. The features included the Pottermore Insider Blog. On 22 September 2015, a huge redesign of the site was unveiled. It eliminated the need to create an account and eliminated other features such as the interactive side of the site. Pottermore did say they were hoping to bring back some features including the ability to be placed into a house and obtain a wand. They also stated they would eventually create a Patronus quiz. The Pottermore Insider also returned under a new name of the Pottermore Correspondent. On 28 January 2016, Pottermore brought back the ability to make an account but not in the same way you could on the old Pottermore. The new design included a new profile layout which may only be seen by the creator. You could be placed into a Hogwarts house and obtain a wand. On 28 June 2016, a Sorting ceremony for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was added. The new Pottermore mainly promotes news, new projects such as the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films, new writing by J.K. Rowling and features. There is also an Explore the Story part, where you may find things such as character, location and object profiles. Pottermore PlayStation Home ''Main article: Pottermore PlayStation Home '' Since April 4, 2013, Pottermore is available on PlayStation home. Players can actually move around in a 3D Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Express, engage in conversation and play several games. It is rumoured more areas will be available in the future, likely with more activities and games. See also * * * Beta Period * Early Sign-Ups * Magical Quill Challenge Category:Pottermore Category:Non-Pottermore Category:Playstation Home